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Buganda (Muteesa I)
Buganda led by Muteesa I is a custom civilization by Grant, with contributions from Thirdvoice. This mod requires Brave New World. It is part of the 12 Days of Africa event. Overview 'Buganda' The region known today as Buganda was known as Muwaawa before the 12th century, meaning a place that is sparsely populated. It is believed that these people come from Abyssinia through the rift valley and the mountains of Elgon. These people were organized into groups that had a common ancestry and constituted the most important unit in Buganda's culture - the clan. The leader of each of these clans would be a chief and ruled a section of the territory. There were five original clans referred to as Banansangwa simply meaning the indigenous clans and they are: Ffumbe, Lugave, Njonge, Njaza and Nyonyi. Originally a vassal state of Bunyoro, Buganda grew rapidly in power in the eighteenth and nineteenth century becoming the dominant kingdom in the region. Buganda started to expand in the 1840s, and used fleets of war canoes to establish "a kind of imperial supremacy" over Lake Victoria and the surrounding regions. Subjugating weaker peoples for cheap labor, Buganda grew into a powerful "embryonic empire". The first direct contact with Europeans was established in 1862, when British explorers John Hanning Speke and Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton entered Buganda. According to their reports, the kingdom was highly organized and practised mass human sacrifice, with about 800 persons being killed annually. The twentieth-century influence of Buganda in Uganda has reflected the impact of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century developments. A series of Kabakas amassed military and political power by killing rivals to the throne, abolishing hereditary positions of authority, and exacting higher taxes from their subjects. Ganda armies also seized territory held by Bunyoro, the neighboring kingdom to the west. Ganda cultural norms also prevented the establishment of a royal clan by assigning the children of the Kabaka to the clan of their mother. At the same time, this practice allowed the Kabaka to marry into any clan in the society. By the end of the nineteenth century, the Kabaka had replaced many clan heads with appointed officials and claimed the title "head of all the clans". The sophisticated structure of governance of the Baganda so impressed British officials, but political leaders in neighboring Bunyoro were not receptive to British officials who arrived with Baganda escorts. Buganda became the centrepiece of the new protectorate, with a degree of control over the other kingdoms: Toro, Nkore, Busoga and Bunyoro. At independence in 1962, Buganda had achieved the highest standard of living and the highest literacy rate in the country. Uganda achieved independence from its status as a British protectorate on 9 October 1962 with the Kabaka of Buganda, Sir Edward Mutesa II, as its first president. However, the monarchy of Buganda and much of its autonomy was revoked, along with that of the other four Ugandan kingdoms. In 1967, the Ugandan Prime Minister Milton Obote changed the 1966 constitution and turned the state into a republic. On 24 May 1966 the federal Ugandan army attacked the royal compound; shelling the palace with the king Mutesa II trapped inside. The king fought his way out of the burning building and with the assistance of the priests at a seminary in Lubaga escaped Uganda and found exile in London where he died in mysterious circumstances (blamed on alcohol poisoning) three years later. The Ugandan army turned the king's palace into their barracks and the Buganda parliament building into their headquarters. The monarchy was finally restored in 1993, with the son of Mutesa II, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II as its Kabaka. Buganda is now a constitutional monarchy, with a parliament called Lukiiko that sits in parliamentary buildings called Bulange. Muteesa I Muteesa I Kayiira (1837 – 1884) was the 30th Kabaka (ruler) of Buganda, from 1856 until 1884. He was crowned at Nabulagala. He established his capital, first on Banda Hill. Later he abandoned that palace and established capitals at Nakatema, Nabbingo, Kabojja, and finally at Kasubi, Nabulagala. The capital at Kabojja got its name due to the numerous executions carried out while the king was resident there, as the name echoes something as deadly as a snake bite. Following his ascension to the throne, Muteesa, with the help of Kayiira, had his rival princes imprisoned on Kisimi Island. Some notable chiefs hatched a plot to overthrow the new king and replace him with Prince Kiyimba. However, the plot was unfoiled and the conspirators, along with Prince Kiyimba and Prince Kajumba, were executed. He was an autocratic but progressive kabaka of Buganda at a crucial time in its history, when extensive contacts with Arabs and Europeans were just beginning. Muteesa has been described as both a ruthless despot and a highly skilled politician -- it was reported that he had over 87 wives and 98 children. Although his position during his first six years in office was extremely precarious and resulted in much bloodshed, he was soon able to consolidate his kingdom into a bureaucratic autocracy in which traditional priests and clan leaders had little power but in which, at least to some extent, talent was recognized. He also reformed the military system and expanded his fleet of war canoes on Lake Victoria. Under him Buganda’s chief wealth came from raids into neighbouring states, although he made no attempt to extend his direct political control. Slaves and ivory seized on these raids or paid to Buganda as tribute were traded to Arabs for guns and cotton cloth, but Mutesa kept both this trade and the Arabs themselves under strict control. He was apparently influenced enough by Islam to observe Ramadan from 1867 to 1877, but, wishing to use European influence as a counterweight to an Egyptian threat from the north, he also welcomed Christian missionaries in 1877. However, he never converted to any religion, despite the numerous tries. In 1884, Muteesa died and his son Mwanga II took over. Mwanga was overthrown numerous times, but was reinstated. Mwanga signed a treaty with Captain Lord Lugard in 1892, giving Buganda the status of protectorate under the authority of the British East Africa Company. 'Dawn of Man' "Your people bow to you, Kabaka Muteesa I, the greatest ruler, commander, visionary, trader and executioner of Buganda. It was under your rule that Buganda reached unparalleled heights of prosperity and progress, maintaining equal relations with the Islamic and Western worlds, while strengthening royal authority and traditional custom. It was you who saw to throw off the Bunyoro yoke and the tyranny of the petty chiefs, which to this day your people rejoice, and it was you who stamped out the pirates and theives prowling the many waters. When the colonialists threatened to impose a white regime on your people, it was you who they rallied for as a symbol of African pride. Your kingdom is but a title under the new Ugandan Republic, but your legacy remains. O' wise and ruthless kabaka, foreign colonialists and seditious courtiers have left your kingdom weak and ungovernable. Your people have been at the mercy of warlords and mercenaries who lust only for blood. Can you re-impose royal authority? Can you command your kingdom up from the ashes? Can you build a civilization that will stand the test of Time?" Introduction: "I, Kabaka Muteesa I of Buganda, welcome you to one of my many courts. As you can see, my power and generosity here are absolute." Defeat: "I still have 5 palaces and 87 wives. What do you have?" Unique Attributes Strategy Music Mod Support Full Credits List *''Grant'': Creator, SQL, Art, Lua, Design, Text *''Thirdvoice'': Design, Text Category:12 Days of Africa Category:All Civilizations Category:Bantu Cultures Category:Civilizations with Male leaders Category:Grant